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Flintshire Record Office celebrates Christmas

Published: 22/11/2017

Flintshire Record Office has produced a set of Christmas Cards to commemorate the last Christmas of the WWI centenary. The images are scans of original cards which were deposited at the Record Office in 2016 as part of a larger collection of family records by the Davies/Lambert family and feature embroidered images in a post card style. This type of card was widely used by soldiers to send home to family and were embroidered by Belgian women as a way of making some money, although, later on, as the cards became more popular, they were produced on an industrial level. The cards were sent from Private Howell Davies, 2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers to his future wife Margaret May whilst serving in France. He survived the war and settled with May in Connah’s Quay. His granddaughter, Mrs Lambert, said: “We are delighted that the Record Office has chosen to base their Christmas card on these images. It is quite emotional to see them in print and being bought and sent to so many people, it really keeps the centenary alive and makes us all realise the great sacrifice people like my grandfather made to keep this country safe.” Principal Archivist, Claire Harrington, said: “For the last four years, the Record Office has produced a Christmas card to sell to the public. We always try and choose a theme which is relevant to the time and this seemed to be an ideal way to commemorate the final Christmas of the centenary of WWI. We hope people appreciate the meaning behind the cards and we thank the Davies/Lambert family for allowing us to use the images. The Record Office has a large collection of documents relating to WWI including a nearly complete Memorial Card Index of every soldier who served in WWI, whether they perished or survived.” The Council’s Armed Forces Champion, Councillor Andy Dunbobbin, said: “I am pleased that the Record Office has chosen to honour those who served in WWI by producing these Christmas cards. It reminds us all of the great sacrifice endured by those who served so that we can enjoy our freedom today.” The cards will be sold in a set of 6 (2 of each design) and will cost £3. They can be bought from the Record Office in Hawarden, the shop at Theatr Clwyd and the Post Office in Hawarden. We can also take payment over the phone and post them to you for a small postage fee. Please ring the Record Office on 01244 532364.